In the 2011 general election, the New Democratic Party stunned political pundits by becoming the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. After near collapse in the 1993 election, how did the NDP manage to win triple the seats of its Liberal rivals and take more than three-quarters of the ridings in Quebec?Reviving Social Democracy examines the federal NDP’s transformation from “nearly dead party" to new power player within a volatile party system. Its early chapters – on the party’s emergence in the 1960s, its presence in Quebec, and the Jack Layton factor – pave the way for insightful analyses of issues such as party modernization, changing ideology, voter profile, and policy formation that played a significant role in driving the “Orange Crush" phenomenon. Later chapters explore such future-facing questions as the prospects of party mergers and the challenges of maintaining support in the long term. Focusing on elections, voters, party activists, party policies, and ideas, all contextualized in a dynamic federal party system, this perceptive analysis of the political fortunes of the NDP adds to our understanding of its role within the Canadian party system. It also positions us within the political landscape as we move towards the next election. | Reviving Social Democracy by David Laycock, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters